Condenser



Nov. 11, 1930. P DMK v 1,781,024

CONDENSER Filed Oct. 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESS !NVENTOR (5.1.2 BYJ.P(;vlT;diak' ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1936 .UNITED STATES aosnrn r. LIDIAK, or LANsnowNE, PENNSYLVANIA, Assre on TowEsriNGHoUsE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING comrANn aoonr-onarron or PENNSYLVANIA j coNnENsnn Myinvention relates to heat exchange apparatus and particularly to steam condensers of the surface type and it has for an object to provide apparatus of the character designated which shall embody improved circulating water features.

It has for a further object to provide a condenser having an outlet water box so arranged that the circulating water may be discharged from the lower portion thereof while, at the sametime, complete flooding of all of the tubes of the nest is assured.

It has for a furtherobject to provide an outlet water box" for a condenser of the foregoing character which shall embody a dam structure, which dam structure shall be so arranged as to insure the maintenance of the proper level of water in the tube nest and, at the same time, shall not interfere with or make diflicult inspection and renewal of the tubes of the nest.

It has for a further object to provide a condenser outlet water box which shall be equipped with a dam structure disposed laterally of the tube nest and so arranged as to be especially adapted for use with condensers of the radial flow type.

These and other objects are effected by my invention, as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal view of one form of condenser arranged in accordance with my invention and showing the outlet water box in cross-section, the cross-section of the outlet water box being taken on the line I-I of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectional view through the outlet water boX taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a planview, in section, of the condenser taken on the line III- 111'. of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse, sectional view through the condenser shell and tube nest and is taken on the line IV-IV of Fig.1; and, I

Fig. 5 is a transverse, sectional view of another form of water box arranged in accordance with my invention and which dlfiers from the embodiment shown in Fig. 2

in that it is not of the dividedwater box type. V v In the construction and installation of condensers, and particularly condensers of the larger capacities, ithas been the conventional practice to supply the circulating Water to the lower portion of theinlet water box and to discharge the circulatinglwater from the upper portion of theoutlet water box. Such an arrangement insures that the tube nest is always completely flooded and that the entire water circulating system may be readilyvented. However, as a' general rule, the circulating .water intake and discharge ducts or tunnels'ofthe 'power plant are usually located beneath the floor on which the condenseris supported and hence it becomesnecessary to extend a conduit from the upper portion of the outlet water box of the condenser to the discharge duct or tunnel beneath the floor. Inasmuch as pipes of this charactermayassume a size of the order of ATE T-pm 50 or. 60inches in diameter,it willbeapparent that their installation is quite costly and that they occupy considerablespace in the power plant. e c v It has therefore been proposed to provide the outlet water boxes of condensers with a bottom discharge connection and to provide,

in the water box, a dam extending transversely thereof and so arranged that the water leaving the tube nest flows over the dam before arriving .atthe discharge connection. By providing such adam, the tubes of the nest are always maintained in acompletely flooded condition and, in addition, the water circulating system may bereadily vented. However, such dams, .as heretofore proposed,

have been objectionable forthe reason that they extend across the water box and in front of the tube nest andhence seriously interfere with, renewal of the tubes of the nest.

I have therefore conceived of a form of water box which embodies'a dam structure located laterally. of .or to'the side of thetube nest. By means of such an arrangement, all

r make diflicult, inspection and ofthe advantages obtained by having the dam extend transversely across theend or in front of'the'tube nest-are obtained and, at

, the sametime, the tubes of the nestare'just as f accessible as in a conventional condenser, that is,:a condenser wherein no'dani structure "is provided and the water outietis located at the top; The form of dam structurewhich I have .devised is especially adapted for use i withycondensers ofthe radial fiowtype but,

as 111 be apparent from the following de- "scription,the invention is also applicable to condensers of other types. 7

. Referring now to the drawings, 'I fshowin Figs. l tofl, a condenser having a shell structurej-10' provided with anvexhaust inlet 11 and'a condensate outlet 12. Located" at each end of the'shellstructure '10 are tubesheets 13 and 14 between which extend anest of cooling' tubes 15} As shown particularly in Fig. 4,'the'tubenest 15 is preferably so arranged "withrespect to the interior ofthe shell structure .10 "as to 'form an intervening steamdelivery space 16 extending around" a substanlt-ial portion of the periphery'ofthe tubenest.

Disposed withinthe interior of the tube nest 15 is an airoff-take conduit 17 provided with an outlet'18, the oif take 17 being arranged j flto withdraw the'steam and non-'conden sable gases in radial 'dire'ctions toward theinterior oricentral portion of the tubenest; Such a condenser is, knowni i as; a condenser, of the 'f'r'afdial' flo'wtype and is disclosed "in'fUnited States Patent No-.' 1,1 42,784, issued-June 8, 1915, to Ehrhart and assigned to the .Westingh Companyi Located "at on eend of the shell structure 1 10 is aninletwater box 21' and at'the'other through the tube nest. In other words, the

"condenser is of the single-pass type but itwill be apparent from the further'de'scription that y condenser isal'soapplicable to condensers "of'the'r nulti-pass types I 1 j Iteferrhignow toIFi box 22 is provided with a; central division wall 24 1601: dividing it into two sections for a cleaning vpurposes. Each section has anouti let25 locatedatthe lower portion thereof and extendinginadownward direction so that, it '1 may be readilyfconnected to the wat er discharge tunnel of the powerplant (notshown) and ordinarily located "below the condenser floor; Extending upwardly from a lower, {,central portion of, the. water boxand between i ate tubefnest 15 and the outlets'25 are respec- 't'ive dam stru'ctures'26 and "27 curved or o'use ;Electric' & Manufacturing g; 2, the outlet was shaped so as to conform with 'theouter con tour of the tube nest and terminating at'28 near the upper portion of the tube nest. As H shown in Fig. 3, the dam structures extend,-

longitudinally, across the full width of the waterbox 2 2. The tops 28 of therespective dam structures 27 are So spaced" from the];

and27. 1 Thewater i'n the sections spills or overflows over the upper edges ofth'e dams 26 and 27 and, by means of the openings 29, en-

tersthe passag'es 31 andis'discharged from the condenser through the outlets'25." Itwill therefore be apparent that a minimum'level of water coincidingwith'the upper edges 28 of the dams is always maintained-in the condenser'sof. that complete flooding aswell as circulation of'w'ater through all of thetubes of thelne's't isassured. Inasmuch as the water, {in traversing the condenser, enters fat the lower portion thereof and-rises to thetop of the tube nest before leaving-the condenser,

thecirculating system may bevented'imerely v by-providing'suitablefvent. fittings, such as 32,'at the top oft-he waterbox.- a From inspection of Fig. 2, it 'willibe apparent thatthe dain structures 26 and 27 are arranged laterally of-,-"or,to the side of the "tubenest, so that they do notinterfere to the "slightest extent withyinspe'ction or renewal of any of the. tubes of the nest. jComple'te access inay'be had :toth'e tubes of the nest 'inerely by removing the cover plate 35 of.;the outlet waterbox as is done'in the conventional i condensen'that is, condensers not provided with-any dam structures. J p 7 From inspection of Fig. 3, it. willbe apparent that the laterally disposed passageways 31cc not project materially beyond the outer confines of the condenser shell in that con-T "shell'structure 10 spaced laterally frointhe tube nest in order to provide an intervening steam delivery space ldsurrounding the tube nest. lateral passageways 31 does not materially increase the maximum width of thecondenser; structure and, hence, a very. compact .ar-

rangement is aiiorded. However, in this connection, it is to be understood that, while the structure disclosed I herein lends itself. especially to condensers constructed upon the densers of. the radial flow type have their In other words, the-provision of the,

radial flow or similar principles, neverthev may also be applied to other types of condensers.

In the foregoing embodiment, I have shown a condenser of the divided water box type. However, as shown in Fig. 5, the idea may be readily applied to condensers where-, in the water boxes are not divided. As shown in this figure, the outlet water box 40 is provided with a single dam structure.

41 located on one side of the tube nest. The dam structure 41 terminates at 42 and defines with the outer wall of the water box 40 a passageway 48 connecting with a downwardly extending outlet 44. In operation, the circulating water enters the discharge water box 40 from the tube nest 15, spills over the dam 41 and is discharged through the passage 43 and outlet 44. If desired, a suitable vent fitting, such as45, may be provided in the top of the water box.

While I have shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations'shall be placed there upon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

IVhat I claim is:

1. In a Water circulating systemfor a concenser, a tube nest having water boxes located at each end thereof, one of said water boxes having an outlet connection located at its lower portion and an upwardly extending dam structure interposed between the outlet connection and the tube nest and terminating near the top of the tube nest, said dam structure being disposed laterally of the tube nest.

2. In a water circulating system for a condenser, a tube nest having water boxes located at each end thereof, one of said water boxes having an outlet connection located.

at its lower portion and an upwardly extending dam structure interposed between the outlet connection and the tubenest and terminating near the top of the tube nest, all of said dam structure extending in a longitudinal direction across the water box.

Ina water circulating system for a condenser, a tube nest having water boxes located at each end thereof, one of said water boxes having an out-let connection located at its lower portion and an upwardly extending dam structure interposed between the outlet connection and the tube nest and terminating near the top of the tube nest, said dam structure being disposed outwardly of the tube nest and extending 1n a longitudlnal'v denser, a tube nest having water boxes located direction across the water box.

4. In a water circulating system for a condenser, a tube nest having water boxes located at each end thereof, one of said water boxes having an outlet connection located in the lower portion thereof and'alongitudi- 'na'lly' extending'dam str 'cture interposed between the-outlet connection and the tube nest, said dam structure extending upwardly adjacent to the outer boundary of the tube nest and terminating near theitop of the tube nest.

5. 3 In a water circulating system for a condenser, a tube nest having water boxes located 'at each-end thereof, one ofsaid water boxes having an "outlet connection located in the lower portion thereof, a dam'structure inter-' 6. In a water circulating system for a condenser; a substantiallyv cylindrical tube nest having water boxes locatedateach end thereof, one of said water boxes havingan outlet connection located at its lower portion and a 5- :dam structureinterposed between the out-let ture extendingv upwardly about the. circumference of the tube nest and terminating-near the top of the tube nest.

7. .In a water circulating system for a condenser, atube nest having water boxes-loconnection and the tube nest,said dam struc- 'cated at each end thereof,'one of saidwater boxes "embodying partition means .dividing saidwater box into'first and secondcomipartments communicating at their topportions, 'said first compartment being disposed in free communication with. the tube nest for receiving waterdischarged therefrom, and

1 an outlet connection for circulating water disposed in the lower portion'of said second com- 'partment, said second compartment being. disposed outboard and laterally of the tube nest.

8.-In a water circulating systemv for acondenser, a tube nest having water boxes located at each end thereof; one of said water boxes embodying partition means dividing said -water box into first and second compartments communicat ng at their top portions, said first compartment being-disposed in free communication with the tube nest for. receiving -water dischargedtherefrom, an outlet connection for circulating water disposed in the lower portion of saidsecond compartment, said second compartment beingdisposed outboard and laterally of the tube nest, and ,a'removable cover-forproviding access to the interior ofthefirst'compartment. s a V 9, Ina water circulating system for a .con-

upper-terminuslocated near the top of the tube nest, anoutlet connection provided in the water box below the termiuslofthe dam structure, and downwardly. extendingpassageway means embodied inthe water box for convey ing circulating water; spilling overthedam structureto said-outlet: connection.

I 10. In a waterr zcirculatingsystem {for a i c condensenwa" substantially cylindrical tube a nestihaving water boxeslocated at each end thereof,- one of said water boxes having an I l arcuatezdam structure extending longitudinally thereacross' and disposed outboard of the tube nest, said arcuate dam structure havinga terminus portion disposed near the top 50f the tube nest, an, outlet connection pro- V "vided ini the lwater boxbelow the terminus fportion of. the dam structure, vand down- 7 "ward'ly extending-passageway means located c outboard ofthe dam structure for conveying v circulating water spilling over the dam structure to the outlet connection.

1 4 11.1111 a water. circulating system for a condenserya' substantially cylindrical tube nest having water boxes located at each endthereof, one-of saidgwater boxes embodying an arcuate darn structure extending from the lower 7 portionof the tubenestnupwardly around the 'slde of the 'tube nest and terminating near the top: of the tube nest, said dam structure extending in the other direction longitudlnally acrossgthe wafer box and forming'a compartment-inithe-waterbox which is in I charge'passageway.

directcommunicationwith the tube nest, and

acwall structure embodied-in the water box and extending substantially parallel with the v I} dam struc'ture and outboard of the latter, said -outboard"wall structure forming, with the "damstructure, aidischarge passageway for c circulating water discharged from the tube nest v into i the" water box compartment and spilling over the dam strucure, and an'outlet connectlonprovided in 12., In a water circulating system for a condense'r; a substantially cylindrical tube nest lhav'ing' water boxes located ateachend'thereof, one of said water boxes embodylng apar- Y tition wall extending vertically across the center of the tube nest and-dividing the water 7 box into right and left compartments-an out- 7 structure interposed between each 'conipartp men't its outlet connectlon, sald dam structures extending from the bottom of the I tube nest upwardly around-opposite sides of let connection for eachcompartment, a dam the tube nest and terminating near' th e stop of tures downwardly to the outlet connections.

the latter, and a discharge" passage Qfor .each compartment located outboard of the respective'dam structures for conveying circulating water spilling over the respective dam struc- Intestimony fi I haV r untosubscribedrny name this'3rd day of Qctober,

' JOSEPH P; amine the bottom of said dis- 

